


Red Skies

by EsperKitty



Series: Light Catcher [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, I forgot there's swearing, I think?, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-15 01:36:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14149083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsperKitty/pseuds/EsperKitty
Summary: What if Shiro had a twin growing up named Ryou? What if the twins were raised by Batman?What if Ryou became a Red Lantern?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cocopops1995](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cocopops1995/gifts).



A light charged across the sky, leaving a bright red path behind him. Where he was going, he did not know, as long as it was as far away from them as possible and towards his goal.

He scoffed at himself.

Goal? It was more so a childish wish, more of a want than a need, something he knew he shouldn't be chasing.

Yet here he was.

All of his family's efforts to keep him from this path gone to waste. His grief, his sorrow, and every drop of hope that had distilled into hateful tears had become the fuel for the fire that flowed through his veins. He could still think and speak, identify facets of his personality from favorite food to what values he respected, though it meant little when he was most likely the only sentient being for light years from what limited informtion he knew.

"Ring, scan area for Green Lanterns." Ryou sat down on some rock, the ground hissing beneath him from the heat of his very visible aura.

"Unable to comply." The ring responded.

Ryou clicked his tongue. He'd been flying for days or weeks-hard to tell when he was constantly awake, giving the same request every now and again, getting nothing in return. Ryou was half sure he'd cross light years, meaning he still wasn't in Green Lantern territory despite how vast their reach was.

An unsettling chill on his neck told him he wouldn't be seeing another Lantern of any color for a long while.

At the very least, he got to see some pretty sights. The planet his butt was melting the surface of had bright green skies, matching waters, bright yellow ground, and red flora. A few days or so back, he was on a planet with blue skies, green ground, and purple plant life. Sure there were huge insect things that tried to kill him, but it was still a nice view.

He reached up. Reached to grab the white, fluffy cloud hanging in the air. He was too low to grab it. He knew he couldn't reach it from where he sat. His eyes focused on his hand.

Black material, something similar to kevlar, wrapped around him. Around his wrist was a red gauntlet, designed to free his fingers for delicate work and protect his hands. On his right middle finger, glowing in the light of an alien sun, was a matching red ring. The red insignia of the Red Lanterns decorating his chest and stood out against the black. The only other red on him had covered his feet, forming an instep guard up to his knees. The rest of his body was bathed in black.

He sighed, pulling his hand back.

"Ring, scan area for food edible for humans," Ryou was sure the ache in his abdomen was his stomach trying to eat his muscles. Thankfully, this request had been granted. Fish, some fruit, and a few birds were on the menu.

It had taken time to get used to his new abilities. Most Red Lanterns were beserkers, lashing out when their ring overpowered their thought, if they still had it. His constructs weren't limited, he had plenty of imagination. The problem was that, as a Red Lantern, Ryou needed rage to create his constructs. As a man of passion, Ryou had plenty of rage to use, among his other emotions, but to constantly be angry went against everything he was taught.

For the time being, he would hunt without the assistance of the ring.

"Unable to comply."

Ryou sighed. He chewed on a bone, looking up to the night sky. His finger traced patterns in the stars with a red light, connecting them to form animals, objects, and vaguely humanoid shapes. He was sure he traced out Ctulhu somewhere.

These weren't the stars he would see back home. These weren't the stars his brother studied until he passed out from exhaustion. Those stars were far from here.

Far from here. Far from home. From friends. Family.

"Ring, can you scan for Green Lanterns?"

"Unable to comply."

The ground hissed, the bone sizzled as it snapped and turned to ash.

"Breathe in," Bruce's words and voice echoed in his head. "Breathe out," His breath came out hot as lava-like spit overflowed in his mouth. "Oh fugh-" more lava. This was going to be a long night, not like he was going to sleep. It did not come easy to him, even before that one bad day. But that was a good thing. Sleep wasted time. Time he could be using to do the things he wanted. Back then, it was only engineering and tinkering. now was different. Now he needed to look for Green Lanterns-

"Unable to comply."

-or Takashi. This planet was but a stepping stone. A place to rest for a moment. Only a moment. A moment and nothing more. Nothing more.

Nothing more.

Nothing.

He had nothing.

Nothing but a dumb magical trinket that was essentially his heart. Taking it off would kill him in a slow and painful burning agony. A trinket that could do most anything he wanted-

"Unable to comply."

-without fail.

He had no one. No one but himself to blame for this. Why didn't he just listen? Why did he even entertain the idea that he could chuck himself into space and look for someone that might be as good as dead? Why?

"Multiple anomalies within scanning range."

Large gray ships came into view. Ships with a familiar purple light and matching markings. The very sight of those lights made something click in Ryou.

The invading fleet saw a bright light in the distance. Bright red, growing brighter by the moment. There was an intense burning heat coming from the light.

By the time they realized it was coming closer, not growing, it was too late.

Ryou was no monster. He didn't think of himself as one. He was simply doing what needed to be done for his survival. There was no fault in that.

Right?

His weapon of choice did not require a construct. His burning bile was akin to shrapnel, a mere aftereffect of his deafening roars. He tore apart those ships with his bare hands, leaving piles upon molten piles of metal and ashes.

"Ring, can you extract any information from this damn thing?" Ryou was trying his best to keep his hot lava bile from damaging the ship's console. So far so good, with one hand on the console and the other over his mouth.

The remnants of the fleet were either hiding or looking for him, most likely both, and he'd deal with them soon enough. With the information was extracted, Ryou stumbled out of the ship. Whether the information would be useful was another story altogether and there'd be no turning back as the ring had destroyed the console in the process.

The ship was in no condition to fly any time soon, most of it still a bubbling ooze consuming itself at a slow and steady rate. Bodies, more ash and bone, scattered and fused into the ship, caught in the rampage. From under red hot rubble came a living body. A purple bat-like face, with glowing yellow eyes caught in a glare, it's black armor surprisingly still on, though in tatters, but hanging on to its wearer.

"What an interesting power," it snarled at him. One of the type that imprisoned him. "What a shame we have to destroy it."

"Oh I would love to see you try," Ryou chuckled, a bloody smile on his face.

The purple idiot charged, sword in hand, yelling the whole while. Ryou dodged with a side step. The sword fell to the ground as Ryou grabbed the alien by the wrist and broke its elbow under his with a sick crunch. The alien continued to hiss and cry, writhing as its arm burned.

"With blood and rage of crimson red," Ryou growled as he twisted the mangled limb, "that fill all souls with darkest dread-"

Another snap, another cry.

"We reap the seed of grief and hate," dropping the arm, a pulsing twitching mess of bone, muscle, and blood, Ryou left the alien to its misery.

Other soldiers surrounded him, wary as they connected the dots of their commander's condition and the ball of fire walking by them. Their caution did not spare them.

"And burn you down," Ryou faced the soldiers, an icy glare in his eyes. "That is your fate."

The ring glowed and seemed to snarl. Red light flowed into it, from the commander, from the soldiers, even from the stars themselves. An eager flame surged through his muscles and veins, igniting an unquenchable desire. Rejuvinated, he went to work on the remains of the fleet.

If Ryou was a betting sort of man, he would say he had enough power for a while if he rationed it accordingly and not repeat the incident from last... month? He was going to say month. The ring kept track of time, though he seldomed looked at it.

He took to the sky, hovering to get a look at his latest handiwork. By dumb luck, the fire wasn't spreading, already devasting the ship and leaving very little in terms of corpses. With his ring glowing from the recent power up, Ryou left.

A light flew across the sky, nearly invisible in the red light of morning.


	2. Chapter 2

"Unable to comply," the ring, in an echoing monotone, replied.

Ryou sighed and leaned back. Weeks had passed and all he had done was cripple a handful of Galra fleets. He was sure this was a good thing, the pod that crashed on Earth had the same symbol, and their treatment of him didn't leave a good impression.

Bored out of his skull, Ryou nibbled on some alien fish bone, a souvenir of his last meal, as he flew through the cold of space. Eventually, it snapped and burned, just as all the others did, and he was left with his thoughts.

Still no sign of Green Lanterns, or even a fellow Red.

Weird, he mused to himself, as his own rage was enough to call a red ring to him. Maybe his fantasies of a rebellion powered by Green and Red Lanterns was just that, fantasies and fragments of his inner child.

A wispy fire escaped his lips, burning itself out just as quickly. Ryou hummed a somber tune, a dark lullaby to tide him over as time passed and he found a planet to stop for the night. He refueled his ring, whispering the oath that binded his soul to the scarlet trinket. Ryou could hear it whispering back, though he wondered if it was the voice of some unspeakable atrocity trying to lure him deeper into his rage or a sign that what little of his mental wellbeing remained was compromised once more.

Against his better judgement, Ryou's thoughts trailed back to home, to family. The first time he and Takashi met Dick, there was an connection, as if fate had linked the three in a way they were too young to understand. They became family, giving Bruce quite a bit of paperwork to deal with.

And with Bruce being Batman, their little family didn't stay little for long.

Their family of five, Alfred included of course, grew to six when Jason was brought under Batman's wing. Tim had, for all intents and purposes, strolled in and demanded to be part of the family, partly for Batman's sake. Steph and Cass, sweet as can be and fiery to boot, bumped the number to nine. Damian, bratty he may be, was welcomed, bringing a total of ten.

Ryou chuckled to himself, adding Keith to the mix despite the lack of legal paperwork. He wondered if Bruce had taken in a kid or two since he left. Though was it even possible that Bruce would even bring himself to bring in any more free spirits? Vigilante business was ricky, especially in the apparent global weirdness hub known as Gotham, and there were many times when the family had came close to losing one of their own. In fact, they had, as Jason would not stop reminding them of what simply became known as the Crowbar Incident. Behind Bruce's back, of course. They'd be grounded for eternity if he heard them call the trajedy something so mundane.

The melancholic humming went on as Ryou once again traced shapes into the night sky, memories flooding his mind, wondering if there were any secrets the others were keeping from him.

He didn't know when he fell asleep. All he knew was that he was tracing a bat shape, blinked, and the sun was up. Sitting up, he stretched, with years of awkward sleeping positions under his belt keeping him limber as ever.

"We have beds for a reason Ryou," a tired imitation of Bruce's stern parent voice was the first thing out of him.

Standing, he looked around. Pretty landscape of yellows and greens, a forest to his back and plains in front. Silently, he scanned for anything edible, another ache in his stomach upsetting him.

"Remember to eat Ryou," once again, an imitation of Bruce's voice came out instead of his own voice as Ryou prepared some sort of rabbit with little horns and long legs. Maybe it was an alien hare. "Don't burn down the kitchen Ryou."

Off again, charting the star system in the ring and making little notes. He hadn't seen any Galra, though he was sure he was close to a supply route or two. The cruisers and fleets had limited information, usually damaged when he got to a relatively intact console that would be destroyed within seconds of Ryou touching it.

He did meet an interesting pair of Galra though. Relatively short as far as he could tell, both wore helmets of lower ranked soldiers. The taller of the two, Graz, was a no nonsense type of guy and had to constantly remind his fellow soldier Thracer, more easy going as far as Galra go, to stop trying to be nice to Ryou.

Graz specifically threatened to kill Thracer but Ryou knew what he meant.

They were nice. A proper comedic duo and he felt a little lonely when he had to leave them behind in what was left of the cruiser.

Bruce's voice told him to not kill anymore and he was right, in a sense. Ryou didn't regret his actions in the arena. He shouldn't be forced to make such a decision in the first place, but he did and he wouldn't let it weigh him down.

But now? When he had the choice to let them live? Something told Ryou to continue the bloodshed, to keep reminding the Galra of how pissed they made him. And that voice, that lingering hiss that caressed his neck with its icy fingers, told him it was okay.

Another voice told him to reconsider. He couldn't quite make out whether it was his own or that of someone else.

Stopping again on a muddy brown planet with pink water, Ryou hummed again, preparing a proper temporary shelter this time around. The hiss edged him on from the back of his mind, telling him to continue and forget about such trivial things.

Ryou ignored the hiss.

"You're doing great Ryou," his imitation of Bruce was wavering.

Night fell and dinner was getting ready, some type of eel shark thing. Ryou watched the fire, properly made without his ring's help.

He sighed, his breath a dancing flame. Looking up, he wondered if somewhere among those stars was a sign of home, even a faint little speck would do. Anything to close the distance that he had put between the people he loved and cared for and left behind.

The eel-shark was slightly overcooked, though Ryou didn't mind the extra effort to chew.

Alfred would be silently exasperated at all fo Ryou's attempts at cooking alien food, passing it through a witty comment or two.

Jason, the little joker he was, would probably lighten the mood by pretending to be a certain celebrity chef and criticize everything, laying on the profanity quite thickly if only for comedic purpose. Unless he actually tasted it, in which case Jason would be honest and try to improve the dish with whatever he could find.

Tim and Takashi were the workaholics who would eat nearly anything Ryou would put in front of them, much to both of their chagrins. Both were bad at managing their time, always one more hour from being done with whatever they worked on. Stephanie would often have to remind Ryou to not make the two sick from any of his weird experiments, but a waffle bribe was enough to keep it a secret.

That doesn't even compare to whatever was Cass' apetite. Ryou chuckled as he remembered Alfred's face when he caught the two of them raiding the fridge.

And Damian? Why, the blood son of Bruce Wayne had proper table manners and a normal appetite of course. He certainly does not begged for sweets, specifically those imported from Japan on one of Bruce's many credit cards, and he certainly did not threaten a thousand hells should he not be satisfied with the peace offering. And he absolutely did not insult the cooking of anyone who wasn't Alfred Pennyworth to varying degrees. Nope. Not at all.

In all seriousness, Cass could literally eat three tubs of ice creams and half a lasagna and still be hungry. He was considering letting her be in on his food experiments but figured it'd be too mean to her.

Ryou just had to laugh. He needed it, all alone and possibly going insane as the ring tried to take over what remained of his mind.

He opened his eyes and froze. The scene before him was not real. The sight of his family, all together at the dining table, enjoying a nice meal, laughing and joking, was not real. He knew better. He knew that it was the ring trying to mess with him. The colors looked fake and wrong in ways Ryou could not describe.

Ryou could feel himself shaking as he tried to pull himself out of the vision, trying to ignore the cacophony of flat, lifeless sounds.

Shaking his head, he covered his ears and squeezed his eyes closed, muttering those horrid words he heard nearly a year ago that started the downward spiral leading him to this situation.

He didn't know how much time had passed. Ryou opened his eyes to the now dead campfire, the leftover eel-shark being eaten by some... carnivorus deer thing.

Ryou locked eyes with it, every muscle freezing at the beast's gaze. The longer they looked at each other, the longer they realized neither wanted any trouble. Both just wanted to eat, and Ryou had simply made the deer's job easier. Ryou sneezed, one of his delicate sneezes surprisingly, and it scampered off, taking the food with it.

He let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding, a shaking sigh that rattled him to his core and left him weak. Something slid down his face, something wet and cold. With a frenzied speed, Ryou wiped his eyes, his hands wet with tears. Faster, he wiped them again, feeling a lump form in his throat.

Yet no matter how much he kept scrubbing them off his cheeks, the tears kept coming.

Small hiccups broke Ryou's breathing. Any more attempts to wipe his face clean of tears halted, his hands curled up in loose fists covering his eyes. Somehow, he had fell onto his back and was staring up at the night sky through blurry tears.

"Its okay to cry Ryou," he told himself, wishing it was Bruce. But more than that...

wishing it was Takashi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey did you know Red Skies had a different opening? Besides all the beta text sitting in my notepad, there was a short AU where the Galaxy garrison was more of a Green Lantern training academy and Keith and Ryou became Red Lanterns and had a fight and then the file got saved all wrong or something and I just deleted it.
> 
> *looks at another AU outline* Hahahaha.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Ryou had decided to dedicate at least one month to figuring out the limits of his ring. The first week was calculating just how much distance he could cover just by flying, mostly for personal reference. Then seeing how much power it would take to cover the same distance with a wormhole, which turned out to be roughly the same amount of energy.

Next was to see the limits of his constructs.

Spikes and whips were the easiest. He went further, creating more detailed weapons, each inch carefully and intricately constructed. Another step and he was headfirst into unconventional at best and questionablely impracticle at worst. Never shall duct tape's usefulness be questioned, even if it was created by light of rage.

Eventually, however, he constructed a miniature and painstakingly detailed version of the Batmobile and many other of Bruce's possessions, including the manor itself, a couple dozen times, all just as detailed. The reason as to why was something he didn't want to acknowledge.

Challenging himself, Ryou decided for something big. Big, huge, towering even. Not just something, no. A simple something would be an injustice to the power of the ring, red or not. He wanted to make something as badass as he could simply because he had the power to do it.

Big. Tough. Strong. BIG.

He closed his eyes and focused. Red light formed around him, jerking around in a swirling mass of bubbling heat. Anger worked its way through his body. He was doing something wrong but didn't know what. He was focusing on the image, blurry it may be. What was wrong?

Was it the fact he didn't know what he wanted? That was always his problem, if he wanted to be honest. He could never specify the kinds of upgrades he wished to make to the gadgets and vehicles in Batman's arsenal, always just a vague better.

Rage?

No, he had plenty to work with, in spite of his upbringing.

He sighed and decided not to waste the charge, though he would have plenty with a simple recital of the oath. Ryou may not be the sharpest batarang but near everyone knew that space wasn't exactly too friendly to those that needed some form of atmosphere to survive. Thus, he made sure to recharge the ring, even setting an alarm for it.

"Best take a break," the accent wasn't perfect, mostly from lack of practice, but Alfred was still a snippy son of a gun, even if only present as a imitation.

Ryou hummed again as he walked along a rocky path. He noticed a large white structure in the distance, though he didn't know what it was from where he stood. The structure had one central and he could make out tips of smaller towers around it, along with blue and black.

He wondered if it was a Blue Lantern ship, but the ring said otherwise.

Curiosity killed the cat, he told himself. He reminded himself of all the trouble his curiosity had gotten him into in the past. Ryou shook his head. He could head over and see what it was. A quick look, in and out, maybe raid their fridge if they had one, didn't even need to interact with anyone on the ship if he played his cards right.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as something enormous flew past him. He covered his ears, the sound nearly deafening. Dust and pebbles went flying, and he managed to open his eyes just in time to see five colorful cat shaped ships-one red, one blue, one yellow, one green, and one black, fly into each of the towers.

The red cat-fierce and fast, looked to be the smallest, around the same size as the green one that almost just seemed to appear out of nowhere. The blue cat-sleek and nimble, was on the same side as the red cat, but looked bigger. The yellow cat was also quite big but looked quite small in comparison to the black cat.

Bigger than the yellow cat, the black cat knew its position well and even took some time to do some fancy maneuvers. Ryou managed, despite fumbling his words, to get a recording of the five on his ring and in his mind.

Something about the black cat resonated with him. It felt... familiar, oddly enough. The focused gaze, the wings, the sheer power that he felt from looking at it. The same for the others, each radiating a force he could only describe as nothing he had ever encountered, and he was bonded to one of the most powerful weapons in the universe.

The cats were in their towers and the white structure began moving. Turned out, it was a ship.

Ryou could only stare in awe of the ship, the ring still recording every second, as it left the atmosphere. Absentmindedly, he found himself shyly waving his hand, as if saying goodbye to it.

While cusiorsity killed the cat, satisfaction definitely brought it back.

He reached the top of the mountain and sat down. Feeling the anger bubble around him, hissing in his ears, Ryou concentrated on the cats, their mighty forms, and his rage.

The black cat still echoed to him. The leader, as it would appear, and rightfully so. He still couldn't believe what he saw-who makes giant metal cats?-but the thought of seeing how they worked excited him.

Though he couldn't, and standing frozen like an idiot didn't help. That simple fact irked him just enough to fuel the ring.

He opened his eyes, seeing a pure red version of the black cat standing over him. If he reached up ever so slightly, he could touch it's chin.

This construct was probably a very scaled down version of the black cat he saw, but that was just fine. This was a start. A first step towards something greater.

To finding Takashi.

Suddenly, the red duplicate of the black cat grew, the ground shattering underneath them. It stood as tall as two story house.

Ryou smiled at the sight. So many oh so deliciously vicious thoughts of revenge ran through his head, mainly more destruction on the Galra in such hilarious fashion. The very thought of them seeing a giant red cat devouring their ships made Ryou giggle in impish glee.

He replayed the recording, seeing if he could recapture that awe.

Barely two minutes, but it was an eventful two minutes and he enjoyed watching the flying cats maneuver around. The power he felt from them was immense but when he looked at his construct, he didn't feel that same force.

Besides the size and color, it was mostly accurate. With such a limited time, he couldn't see any finer details or know how the inside of these cats looked, but that wasn't the problem.

He looked to the recording and back to his construct. He realized what was wrong and in a flash, the vile red duplicate was gone. With a small frown, he decided on using his own power, his own image, to get where he wanted. The cats were another entity entirely and to tarnish that majesty wouldleave a bitter taste in his mouth.

Ryou sang to himself softly, another wistful and pensive melody, though he smiled as the words flowed from his lips in nonsense that only he could understand. As he hummed, he held out his hands and recreated the scene.

Five cats-no, they weren't simply cats. For all their elegance and grandeur, the simple mystery of domesticated housecats would not do. They were something more.

"Stop snapping Ryou," he told himself, repeating Dick's annoyed tone. But Dick wasn't here and Ryou could snap his fingers as much as he wanted and as loudly as he wanted.

Deep down, he knew the word. Something like a cat but bigger and more dangerous. What the word was escaped him entirely. Definitely still feline, no doubt.

Cheetah? No, those had spots. Tigers had stripes and he didn't see any stripes. Jaguars were also out as were leopards. He was close to the word, he felt it. He could almost grab it but it was just out of reach.

Roar. It roared. The word he was thinking of can roar. Big bushy hair, but only on some. He can see the big cat. He knew what it was, from natural habitat to symbolism but the damn name was not in his current vocabulary and that was the frustrating part.

He thought the ring was messing with him. That was the only logical explanation besides just a slip in his thought process.

What was he thinking of? The red light was twisting around him in a bubbling stream. A quick sigh, accompanied by more red light and flames, was a start to calming down. He looked up and saw that it was night.

"Lost in Wonderland again, eh Ryou?" Jason's cockiness was easy to recreate, something Ryou had to admit that he took advantage of on a number of occasions.

A few days later, Ryou found himself in the middle of a fire fight between two Galra fleets. While he had questions-many questions including why they were fighting each other, he had to either get out or join in.

Neither side knew what hit them.

Graz and Thracer were doing just fine and even got a promotion, considering their faces were not covered by a helmet. How they got said promotion was anyone's guess.

Ryou was just about done with some drones when something clicked.

"LIONS!"

The word had came back and it was lions. The cats were lions and they were not a force to brush off and ignore. He happily picked off some more drones, though one seemed to bleed.

When he was done, he was still giddy at the thought. Not just that he remembered the word, but the very idea of someone building giant mechanical lions for one reason or another. Most likely to be weapons, given his own ideas of using the meer image of the black lion. He was too giddy in fact, and needed to borrow one of the escape pods to fly himself out of there.

"Lions," he giggled to himself, chewing on some sort of oversized strawberry-like fruit by the crashed remains of the pod.


	4. Chapter 4

"-that is your fate." Ryou finished reciting his oath. He felt a wave of energy rush through him, culminating in a fire filled sigh of relief. His luck was running thin and he was no closer to finding Takashi than when he first blasted himself into space. The Galra were as helpful as a crowbar to the face and the few aliens he could talk to didn't know.

On the bright side, he was somewhere no Lantern of any kind seemed to have gone before and the duty of charting out such a vast side of the universe fell onto him. Ryou was dead sure he'd be getting the mother of all lectures and never hear the end of it when he got back. Somehow, of course.

Ryou traced out shapes in the stars again, humming jibber jabber to himself, mostly a mix of Japanese and the secret language Bruce could never figure out, no matter how hard he tried or how many times the little devils named Takashi and Ryou Shirogane rearranged his notes or completely changed their twin talk.

Maybe that's what Ryou liked about Bruce, the determination to be sure of nearly every little detail before he did something, be it stopping the Joker for the upteenth time in a month or keeping his ever growing nest of bats and birds from getting too out of line, Bruce wouldn't stop over any hiccups in his plans. Bruce was the type to adjust as quick as a whip, to play along and pull the strings behind his back.

And Bruce taught his kids to do the same.

To varying success, though everyone caught on to the martial arts and impromptu one liners rather quickly, much to Bruce's annoyance when he realized his wards could and would sass back.

He wondered what everyone was doing back home. Bruce was barely keeping himself together when Takashi disappeared but seemed to be getting better. Without a doubt, he'd be agonizing over Ryou's disappearance now. Everyone, actually, in their own little ways.

"We're the one supposed to be dying," Ryou muttered, remembering the tears in Jason's eyes when he said those same words through gritted teeth, "not him."

Dick, Dickbird, Dickwing, Dicky Dick, Richard John Grayson, the one other person Ryou would call his big brother, must be one of the most devastated and taking it hard.

Ryou chuckled to himself, realizing the inappropiate pun he just thought of.

But in all seriousness, Dick had most of Bruce's bad habits and was most likely beating the shit out of some poor thug to let out his anger. Ryou sighed as he realized that it must be twice as bad, considering the unfortunate timing. Dick would probably say some weird stuff like "you don't know how close were were!" or "I was supposed to protect them!" in defense.

Tim, just like before, would be headfirst into work and ignoring his needs, insisting the work needed to be done and he was fine. He would most certainly not be fine and the urge to try and wormhole back to fix it would be beyond the ring's charge.

Jason, determined to be better than Dick at nearly everything, would lash out even with even more ferocity. How the ability to have a bigger tantrum was somehow better wasn't something he had an understanding of, though Ryou spent a lot of time trying to reassure Jason that no matter what he would be loved. Similarly, Steph, an optimist among realists and cynics, would be working herself to the bone to keep everyone together and alive.

Damian was the most upsetting to think about. He was a kid, the baby of the bunch, born from fire and raised in the shadows but still a child. Damian didn't seem to properly process that Takashi had disappeared. He knew the concept of death in a disturbing amount of detail but to have someone leave and not come back? Even when they said they would come back? Something didn't click in his little mind and no one seemed to know what to do.

Cass suffered in a similar manner, though this was due to her peculiar mindset rather than a lack of maturity.

Ryou remembered coming up to the manor proper, one of the few times he left the cave, and saw Damian and Cass sitting by the front window with Titus and Alfred the cat in their laps, watching the front gate as if they were expecting someone to come. Ryou said nothing, turning to go back to the cave.

"He's not coming back," Cass had finally said, "is he?"

Titus whined, looking at Damian with a forelorn expression.

"No," Ryou remembered saying, his voice small and helpless as he too was ready to accept the grim reality.

Last but certainly not least, Alfred was holding strong for the entire family. Eyes blurry with tears but voice as steady as stone, ready to share some comforting words of wisdom to whoever would need to hear them and provide some equally comforting meals. Truly, a man who knew grief well and would not let it overwhelm him.

So why, Ryou thought, did he think that a weird alien ship and eyewitness testimony from some former coworkers was going to change that? No, it wasn't just the ship or hearing that Takashi was alive. Ryou knew it in his heart that it was true. The unspoken connection between them told him so and he had little reason to not trust that bond.

With another loud, groaning sigh, Ryou looked to the sky, seeing that dawn was approaching. Just thinking about the effect his actions had on his family was bad enough, but to think about his friends just added fuel to the fire.

Everyone knew that a Bat Family situation was strictly left to the Bat Family, but that didn't stop the Justice League from dropping by and offering kindness. Ryou was going to be honest and admit that half of what they all said went in one ear and out the other without stopping.

"TAKASHI!" Ryou howled into the light of dawn, knowing full well no one would hear him. "WHERE ARE YOU!?"

All he did was scare some birds.

"Ugh," another huff of fire and Ryou was on the ground, his legs crossed and irritably bouncing as he thought of what to do next. Opening up a map, he noted all the places he's been to and all the supply routes from the Galra cruisers. Some of the information didn't line up, making his leg bounce even more.

For one, some supply routes were either present or incomplete, most of the present ones took different paths, and the incomplete routes made no sense considering the tactical advantage they'd have if they were finished.

He noticed the sunrise and felt something else spark inside him.

Takashi wasn't the only one missing.

When he had gone to the desert to talk to Keith, face to face instead of over some phone or radio trying to desperately connect, the little hotheaded goblin wasn't there. There were signs that he had prepped for an outing but no matter how long Ryou waited, he didn't come back. The Garrison wasn't much help when he tried to reconnect and find out anything about his missing little brother, they already swamped over trying to explain the disappearance of three cadets, one of which was his former student.

Takashi, Keith, and Hunk. Three people he knew and loved dearly had gone missing yet where he was focusing on the one. Then were was Hunk's friend Lance, who Ryou may have seen once or twice, and a younger looking student named Pidge that looked an awful lot like Matt. That was five people missing, seven with Matthew Holt and Samuel Holt. He hit his head on a rock and broke it into dust and pubbles. He was being selfish and it hurt to think how bad it had gotten before he realized it.

With that, Ryou had made up his mind. He would find and bring home all seven, no matter how long it would take.

Stretching and basking in the morning sun, Ryou made sure he left no mess in the alien wilderness he had camped in for the night and was off.

He decided to follow one of the incomplete supply routes to see if he could find clues as to why they were incomplete in the first place. The Galra empire was vast and far too old to simply leave these routes unattended to. Surely something was disrupting the route and even cutting off routes completely alongside entire quadrants of the empire.

Though that did beg the question of what was cutting off whole star systems from the Galra's iron grip.

Something powerful, though certainly not him, all he did was destroy a bunch of cruisers and some bases. No, some organized force was behind this. Maybe there was a rebellion or two, hiding out and doing what they could to bring down the Galra. His little fantasies of a Green Lantern rebel force might not be entirely unfounded.

He wondered what Bruce would have done to help.

First, gather intel, naturally. Figure out the structural weaknesses of the empire, locations that the Galra would defend at all costs and would incapacitate them in one fell swoop if taken from them. From there it was a matter of tackling the remaining forces and keeping them apart to where reinforcments would be too far and take too long to be of any help.

The Justice League would definitely be in on this sort of thing, probably bring in their own armies to help. Diana and the Amazons, The Green Lantern Corps, hell, Aquaman could probably find some space mermaids to be friends with and ride into battle on a giant space shark.

"Hmm," Ryou smiled at the thought, finding an abandoned Galra base at the end of the route.

The mental checklist grew. Find all of the missing seven, in no particular order. Find the rebel forces and see if they need his help.

"Ah!" Ryou hiccuped, some bile escaping his throat in the process and scorching the floor.

Now he knew the ring was messing with him if he somehow forgot that he was one of if not the best engineers in current human history. Ryou wasn't made to destroy, no matter what the ring wanted from him. He was a creator and the ring wouldn't take that from him any more.

To start, he would need to fix up the communicators in the base and find some proper information without destroying the computers. Then, fix up one of the ships to fly. He was no pilot but he watched Takashi enough times.

How hard could flying be anyways? He piloted a ship twice, flew with the power of the ring, and even took some of the Bat vehicles out for test runs a few times. Lean right, turn right. Lean left, turn left. Up goes up, down goes down, don't touch weird flashy lights and keep an eye out for things to not bump into. Ryou could do this. He wiped away some dust and saw the symbol of the empire glaring back at him.

With a sick crunch, a hiss, and an ominous flash of red, it was no more.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey Ryou those are some nice friends you got there.

Graz and Thracer were more than willing to cooperate. Graz, a light purple-white Galra with a thin square-ish face and short but noticeable hair, grumbled the whole while. Thracer, a violet Galra with a fox-like face and wild hair, agreed simply because Graz was playing along. Ryou almost didn't recognize them at first, as they wore helmets the first time he met them and it had been awhile since their last meeting. Now both of them wore black armor with symmetrical bright purple marks on their chests, indicating another promotion.

"Stupid rebel and his stupid red powers," Graz continued his grumbling as he set the cruiser's engine to overheart and go off in an about an hour. "Why is he not dead yet?"

"So what is your plan?" Thracer's sharp yellow eyes looked at Ryou. "You already have firepower-"

"And the necessary information-" Ryou stretched, looking over to Graz and making sure he didn't trip an alarm.

"That as well," Thracer yawned, showing a sharp set of canines. "So what do you plan to do?"

"Are you that dense?" Graz turned and growled at his fellow soldier. "He wants to destroy the empire! Have you not been paying attention to all the times he's attacked us?"

"Oh right!" Thracer hopped up, previously sitting down, and crouched slightly, hands up as if ready to pounce. "The merciless red beast that leaves nothing but destruction and death in his wake!" Thracer growled and smirked, lunging at Graz and making the poor fool flinch. "Or so the rumors go."

"Being cheeky huh little g-..." Ryou paused, realizing he didn't know what Thracer was and to assume would make an ass out of himself. The two Galra looked at him, expecting him to finish what he was saying. Ryou's mouth was still slightly open. "Galra," he nearly bit his tongue.

"Little?" Graz huffed, smirking. "Even Thracer is taller than you."

"And I'm the shortest in my graduating class!" With a small hint of pride, Thracer saluted, putting... their right fist over their chest and their left behind their back.

Ryou looked at both of them. Indeed, the top of his head only reached Graz's shoulder and he could headbutt Thracer right in the nose and teeth if they stood close enough.

"So it would seem," Ryou finally said, thumping Graz's arm to get him back to work.

With a growl, Graz complied. Thracer continued their duty of watching for any incoming drones or soldiers, staying in Ryou's peripheral vision.

Ryou watched Graz's fingers tap around, the symbols appearing and lining up neatly. He could see the conflicted look on Graz's face settle into something resembling pity or resignation. Odd, Ryou thought, that two Galra would be willing to work with someone like him. He didn't find much from the abandoned base a few weeks back, and he sacrificed the ship in order to get to here, much to his dismay. 

"Did you-" Graz started to ask, his voice cracking, "did you find who you were looking for?"

Every muscle in Ryou's body froze. The ring began to shine.

"No," Ryou glared at Graz. "I haven't found them yet."

"Them?" Thracer pointed to themselves and tilted their head, their little pointy ears seemed to twitch.

"I'm looking for multiple individuals now," Ryou explained. Thracer seemed disappointed. "Why do you care?"

Graz was almost done, mulling over what seemed to be a passcode prompt. "I thought about what you said," he said softly. "About how you'll make every last Galra pay for what... what we had done to your family. I looked through some records and found someone who looked like you, a gladiator known as the Champion."

"Records say he escaped," Thracer added. "No information on where, however."

"I know that," Ryou held his wrist, wishing he would stop shaking.

"But," Graz finally began to enter the passcode, "we also found that he had some... modifcations done by the druids."

"Modifications?" Ryou did not like that word being in the same sentence as Takashi was.

"An artificial arm with simple quintessence implants, works similarly to your own weapon. There were no reports on why but it seems the arm was designed to complement his hand-to-hand combat proficiency." Graz finished entering the passcode. The room began to glow an ominous red. "There. The Central Hub will detonate soon, taking the ship with it."

"What is the meaning of this!"

A larger Galra with red armor came in, backed by two sentries that took aim at them. If he remembered correctly, Ryou recognized the red armor as that of a Galra very high in the pecking order.

Ryou dashed in front of Thracer and constructed a shield.

"If any of you have a good idea now would be the ti-WHOA!" Ryou as grabbed by the scruff of his neck and thrown towards the commander. In defense, Ryou extended the shield into a spiked bubble, piercing and burning as it made contact with the commander and one of the sentries.

Thracer, quick on their feet, dodged the second sentry's fire, grabbed it by the head, and tossed it into the Central Hub.

Dropping the bubble to try and fight the commander head on, Ryou was once again grabbed, flung over Graz's shoulder, and hauled off.

"OI!" Ryou's voice dropped into an accent he hadn't used since he was a child and pitched rather roughly. "The fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Getting all of us out of here safely!" Graz yelled in response as he ran off, making rather sharp turns.

Ryou saw sentries and Galra coming at them and taking aim. Another shield went up, taking the hits with ease. Ryou lifted himself to look behind him, dreading that Graz and Thracer were taking him somewhere unpleasant. Instead, he saw Thracer drop kicking a sentry. Once again, Ryou was tossed and he landed on hard metal.

"Get the door closed!" Graz howled.

Thracer nodded and did... something to the blaster they had on hand and threw it into the oncoming wave of sentries. Ryou saw a window of opportunity and took it.

A red light shot from the ring and hit the blaster just as the doors closed with a satisfying boom, the force of it bending the metal. The hatch to the escape pod was also closing and Thracer jumped in without a second to lose and rolled towards the chair Graz sat in.

The pod moved. Ryou, cursing his shaking legs, stood and looked out the little window, seeing the hangar turn dark as the lights shut off behind them. Then, the cruiser was behind them, exploding as soon as their little pod had left.

Suddenly, his back was to a wall.

"Holy shit." Ryou muttered.

"We're traitors," Graz was having a meltdown. "We're traitors to the empire. Thracer," Graz held his companion by the shoulders, "we're traitors."

Thracer nodded slowly, looking at Ryou.

Ryou let out a huff, smiling. Thracer returned the smile and began to snicker. Graz let his guard down and was the first to fully laugh his heart out, opening the flood gates to even more laughter from Ryou and Thracer.

Soon, they found each other sharing amusing stories.

"And the sustenance went everywhere!" Thracer held their arms out wide, a toothy grin on their face. "Graz and I had to clean the sustenance facility until we graduated!"

"In my defense," Graz added from his seat in the pilot's chair, "Thracer would not let go of the plate."

"Oh!" Thracer sounded so offended. "Says the one who wanted extra servings!"

"I cannot help that my growing body needs more than what the facility allows us to have at meal times!"

"Oh my god this is the best," Ryou chuckled to himself, hiding the guilt from killing so many Galra that were just doing their job.

"Red," Thracer sat up prim and proper, looking Ryou right in the eye. "This Takashi you want to find, you bear quite the resemblance to him, is replication technology that advanced on your homeworld?"

"No," Ryou was now faced with embarrassment of not properly introducing himself to these two.

"Is that your most preferred word?" Graz teased.

"No," Ryou teased back, noting that the smile on Graz's face was similar to Thracer's, soft and catty. "And about Takashi, well, it's a funny thing about my kind's biology. Sometimes, little mutations occur and instead of one child, two are born." Ryou used his hands to try and illustrate the concept of monozygotic twins. "When that happens, the two children, twins as we call them, can look identical with very minor genetic differences."

"And the other individuals you are searching for?"

"One is not related to me by genetics, but I view him as family. Another one is someone I taught-"

"You're an instructor!?" Graz yelped in surprise.

Ryou felt in his heart, under all the pent up rage and despair, that this was just the start of something exciting.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryou just keeps waking up in weird places and meeting weird people

Once more, Ryou awoke to a strange and unfamiliar lights. He was laid on a table, a ring suspended around him slowly moving from his head to his toes and back up, passing a faint light on his body.

"Multiple impurities within the plasma," he heard the low voice of an alien nearby, as well as the sound of tapping. "Cellular structure seems to have adapted quickly to the side effects."

Ryou felt himself shaking. The tapping stopped momentarily. "H-Hey, I don't know the specifics of each part of the spectrum but I can tell you what I know."

"Subject has awoken and begun talking. Rude." The tapping, which Ryou saw was actually the sound of typing when he craned his head see, resumed.

"Well you aren't wrong," Ryou huffed. He could see short, pale orange hair and a dark complexion, but not much else besides their dark colored outfit.

"I am seldom wrong," the alien retorted.

Ryou chuckled. "Is that so?"

No response.

"The source of these impurities, as you call it, is the ring. The little red thing around my finger that glows?" Ryou continued talking, wishfully thinking that he wasn't lined up for any invasive experiments. "The ring is a conduit for red light, the light of rage."

The alien hummed.

"Each light is a specific emotion, seven or so in total. Red for rage, blue for hope, yellow for fear, green for willpower," Ryou was digging through his memory to find the proper explanations, sure he might have been missing something. "I forgot what orange was but there's also violet for love and indigo for compassion."

"And how does one wield the powers of the spectrum?" The alien tilted their head ever so slightly towards Ryou.

"Well for starters the ring has to deem you worthy of wielding its power," Ryou clenched his fist, hoping it would stop his shaking. "You'd make a good fit for yellow."

"For fear." Their eyes, green with yellow pupils, seemed to glow.

"I'm not saying you're a cowardly person," Ryou explained, "but that you have an ability to fill others with a great sense of unease."

The alien resumed typing without saying a word.

Ryou tugged at the restraints. He figured Graz and Thracer were safe, wherever they were, though his memories were too fuzzy to recall what happened to them. He took a peek at the monitors around him, trying to make sense of them as best he could.

"I have a few questions," Ryou continued watching the monitors, "first and foremost, who are you?"

The alien didn't look at him. "You have no use for that information."

"Fine, I'll just make up stuff about you." Ryou checked the charge on his ring, barely a few sparks left. "Based on what I've seen of this facility and your attitude, I suspect you are a giant nerd."

The typing paused as the alien scoffed.

"And if I were to take a calculated guess, I'd say someone didn't like what you were doing so you decided to leave." Ryou smirked, feeling confident in his assessment.

The alien began chuckling, smiling as they turned around.

"How curious you are," the alien tapped a button, raising the table Ryou laid on. "I suppose I could share some details about myself if it amuses you so much."

Pulling up a chair, the alien sat in front of Ryou, the same eerie smile on their face. He could now see that they had yellow marks under their eyes, triangular and sharp, tracing their cheeks, and pointed ears.

"I suppose my name would be a natural place to start," the alien tilted their head. "Varice."

"Ryou Shirogane," Ryou bowed his head as much as he could.

"Your assumptions are not entirely accurate, though still slightly impressive given what little information there was to speculate with," Varice held their chin. "True, my work was considered controversial, though not for the reasons you would assume."

"Care to enlight me?" With a tilt of his head, Ryou flashed an inquisitive look.

Varice stood and looked back to the monitors. "My impulsive king, Alfor of Altea, had assigned me to work with a fellow researcher, Honerva. He believed my talents would be of great assistance to her subject of interest."

"Was he right?" Ryou could see some glint of emotion in Varice's eyes, though he wasn't sure if it had been nostalgia or something else.

"Of course. I made substantial progress within a few quintents," Varice made notes of what seemed to be scans of Ryou's body.

"So why was it controversial?" Ryou could remember feeling the same scrutiny when he suggested improvements that were deemed too dangerous to work.

"What I had accomplished in those quintents was something Honerva had been working on for so much longer," Varice answered. "She attempted to recreate my results to no avail. Her husband, Emperor Zarkon of Daibazaal, had choice words for my supposed mockery of his beloved."

"Zarkon? As in the tyrant that has most of the universe under Galra control?" Ryou could not fathom such a being having any love for another being.

"Can you believe he nearly executed me for making more progress than Honerva?" Varice looked back at him. "Though I'm surprised that they managed to catch up to my work."

And with that, Ryou's view of Zarkon as a heartless toad was reaffirmed.

"I suppose if that quiznack is still alive, then Honerva is as well, correct?" Varice's tone was quite condescending, especially with that certain word.

"There is a witch that works with him," Ryou answered. "She's scary and mean."

"I see," Varice did not sound pleased. "I wonder how great the gap between us has gotten."

"Well aren't you a bit arrogant," Ryou raised an eyebrow.

From this story, he gathered that the quintessence research had done something to Honerva and Zarkon if they were apparently well beyond their natural lifespans. By that train of thought, the research Varice had done was a refined version, if they were still relatively sane.

"So quiznack is-"

"A foul word a child such as yourself should not repeat," Varice quickly shot a scowl at him.

The equivalent of fuck, Ryou mused to himself.

"Thankfully, the gracious King Alfor helped me escape with what little time he had," Varice went back to the monitors, a bit of sarcasm dripping from their lips. "The last I heard of him, he had a child. A daughter named Allura. I sent gifts, though I'm sure he didn't receive them, given the distance and the fact I was a fugitive in Zarkon's eyes."

"Well I know a wonderful place fugitives such as ourselves can mingle freely," Ryou hoped he could find Rimbor, at least then he would could try to contact someone he knew.

"You? A fugitive?" Varice smiled again. "What could you have done to anger the empire?"

"Destroy their ships, killed their forces, and threaten to kill Zarkon himself on a universe-wide broadcast," Ryou shrugged. "You know, regular rebel things."

"With the power of the red light, I assume." Varice pulled up scans of the red ring.

"Yep," Ryou huffed, getting his bangs out of his eyes. "At the cost of living without it's support."

"The ring replaces this structure in your chest," Varice noted, pointing to a scan of Ryou's heart.

"I still have weaknesses," Ryou tried to make himself comfortable. "Besides having the ring as a life support, if I let my rage overwhelm me, I'll become an uncontrollable monster."

Varice continued making notes of the scans.

Ryou huffed, trying to read the notes from afar. "Hey um, weird question but do you mind undoing the restraints here? I need to recharge the ring and I don't wanna wreck any more of your stuff," he wiggled uselessly.

Varice would make a great lawyer. Negotiations alone were quite the trial and Ryou hadn't felt so metaphorically heated in a long while. He was sure Bats would have a field day with this one.

The new terms of his living arrangements were made. In exchange for helping Varice research the spectrum, specifically the red light, Ryou would be allowed to view her research on quintessence and fix up anything around the ridiculously large facility. Given it's age and how Varice seemed to be the only one in the area keeping things in order, that meant many broken things were in need of repair.

"SO! MANY! THINGS!" Ryou couldn't stop screaming, even after he lost his voice. He ran around each room, looking for things to fix despite having a list from Varice themse-herself. Ryou finally asked Varice about that, and got an answer, though Varice didn't necessarily care about it to begin with.

What made the facility amazing was the near seamless mixture of organic material found on the planet and technology from Varice's people that she was able to recreate. A containmnet pod that Ryou vaguely remembered being trpped in and destroyed was already regrowing. All Ryou needed to do was rewire some things and made sure it grew into shape properly.

When he finally recited his oath, seeing the last sparks light up, he still felt tired. The rush of energy was weak and he could no longer hear the hiss of the ring.

He smiled wearily, knowing what it meant.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter has a reference to TFS At The Table. An early part at that, and I've just dated this chapter.
> 
> Also next chapter, *remembers the reaction I got on Tumblr* hahahahahaha.

A horrid nightmare plagued Ryou's sleeping mind. He hissed to himself as he tried to rewrite the images he saw. The sounds of screaming and crying filled his ears as the rest of his body buzzed with white noise. He knew this wasn't real and he wasn't going to let it overwhelm him.

A glittering darkness washed over him as he yelled to himself, demanding he wake up.

He opened his eyes, feeling something pecking at his face and saw some sort of bird with a dopey looking face. Panicked, he sat up, throwing pink sand everywhere and scaring more of those birds. His head hurt like hell and the sun was way too bright.

"Ugh," Ryou groaned as he lifted his arm to shield his eyes as they began to adjust to the bright light. He saw large formations in the distance, isolated hills ith flat tops and steep, vertical sides, scattered in the waters. He didn't recognize the place, but did see that he hit one of those formations given the charred chunk on one of them. Behind him, about 4 or so meters away, was dense jungle.

Ryou pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to make sense of what happened.

He remembered making progress with Varice on research, then he was asked to go fix some of the generators in the sub-basement. Before that, he remembered showing her something on the ring. The recording of the lions.

"Hehe," he chuckled to himself again, the absurdity hitting him again.

She had recognized the lions, he could see it in her eyes as she told him the history as she remembered it. The Lions of Voltron, created by Alfor, piloted by himself, Zarkon, a fish man named Blaytz, a giant bear-like being named Gyrgan, and a stern looking woman named Trigel.

"Alfor piloted the Red Lion," Ryou used his fingers to remember the positions, "Gyrgan piloted the Yellow Lion, Blaytz had Blue, Trigel piloted Green, and Zarkon was the leader, piloting the Black Lion."

In that same time frame, Varice had smuggled herself back to Altea to collect the remains of her research that hadn't been destroyed or locked away. She met Princess Allura but didn't have much of an opinio-

"Focus!" Ryou slapped his cheeks and took a deep breath. "The Lions went missing after Altea was destroyed. The fact that they've reappeared means that there are new Paladins. New Paladins mean insurgent activity had increased substantially against the Galra."

How did he end up here though? The ring didn't know and showed nothing of interest on the radar when he asked. He must have hit a nerve somewhere, enough to get quite the distance.

He dug through his memories again. Varice showed him something, a recording of her own. The new faces of Voltron. He remembered relief, as he saw Keith, Hunk, Lance, and Pidge in matching white armor, each wearing a different color that matched the lions. Then another face he recognized but with that face came dread.

Then hate.

Hate, loathing, abhorrence, and absolute rage towards the Galra.

The sand under him melted into itself, forming solid glass-like material.

The first time he saw the Lions, he was in awe. He was, by some means or another, content with watching from afar, to let them be mere figures in the distance. Now he understood that he had let the people he love slip through his fingers and off to fight a war.

Not even that, they were so close and yet he never reached out. He never bothered to follow the ship, to head towards it and ask who was there.

And that anger was what lead him here.

In blind fury, he bolted out of the facility, crashing into all sorts of equipment and walls and virtually destroying everything that came near him. All he knew was that he had to leave and leave fast. He couldn't waste anymore time.

Then, Ryou woke up here.

Sighing, he stood and stretched, wondering what food was available besides pesky alien seagulls that seemed to like him. Then again he never had seagull, unless he wanted to believe that the old owner of that beach house back in Japan actually used seagulls in her soups instead of, say, chicken as the name of the soup would imply. He wondered if that old hen was still alive and well, considering the last time he visited it appeared she did not age a single day.

"Welp," Ryou muttered to himself, "gotta get to work."

He found some weird round fish, resembling a puffed up pufferfish, scattered on the north end of the coast being pecked at by the birds. Ryou found a sharp rock and honed its edge on another rock, ready to cut into the fish. They seemed to be breathing, their plump bodies rhythmically inhaling and exhaling, but showed no reaction to his touch.

So far, the tip of the stone had cut into it, and it let out an ear-shattering screech. Ryou gritted his teeth and continued cutting.

"Son whatcha doin' guttin' a bloater?"

A low and growling voice came from Ryou's left. Ryou looked and saw what seemed to be a reptilian man. About two heads taller, heavyset with scars on his arms and chest, wearing simple trousers and brandishing a fishing rod, a wooden bucket, and a large blade on his hip.

"I-" graceful as ever, Ryou began to speak. "I'm hungry."

"Ya ain't gon' get much food from these dumb little buggers." The reptilian, alligator by the looks of it, picked up one of the fish by the tail and bounced it a bit and smiled at Ryou. "Not even the gullies eat them." The alligator man nodded over the birds pecking at one of the fish.

True, the birds didn't seem to be eating. The fish the birds pecked at screeched, and the birds went to peck at another.

"I've eaten worse," Ryou was in no mood to chat or mingle, though he wondered if Taka would enjoy such a luxury.

"Ya don' seem to understand," the alligator man poked the eye of the fish with a sharp and short clawed finger. No reaction from the fish. "Only a desperate gator eats these."

"Well then I'm desperate," Ryou continued gutting the bloater out of sheer spite.

"Whatever floats yer boat son," the alligator man tossed the fish into the water, earning a screech. "Now ya wouldn't hapen to know about that red light that crashed here last night would ya?"

"Nope," Ryou bit a chunk off the bloater's innards, noting the rubbery texture and blandness. He felt the alligator man staring at him. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"I do, and it's called fishing," the growl was unmistakable.

Lovely, Ryou thought. He heard another screech as the birds continued their little game, thinking of switching to them for food once he didn't have some wise-cracking reptile nearby.

"If ya like some real food my village ain' too far from here," the alligator man waded into the water, "I could lead ya there when I'm done."

Ryou took a deep breath and walked into the water, though he didn't bother to hold it, his force field was enough to keep him breathing. He found a large shark-like fish, punched the damn thing right in the nose, grabbed it by its long whip-like tail, and dragged it back to shore.

The look on the gator man was priceless but beaming with pride and an itch to make this a contest.

"So what about this thing?" Ryou just wanted to eat. He didn't ask for a questionably friendly gator to try and tell him what to do and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"That there's a lopi," the gator had a good look from where he stood, "good for rations or a light snack if you smoke 'em."

"I'll take it," Ryou dragged the shark further inland, just enough to make sure it didn't escape from him. A quick jab to the brain would be a quick and humane kill, but the thing was twice his height in length, not counting the tail, and thrashing about.

"Ya need help?" The gator seemed to be smirking.

"I got it!" Ryou yelled just as he got thrown off the shark.

"Do ya?" The gator had already began fishing, checking his line.

Ryou huffed his bangs out of his eyes, making a mental note to cut his hair soon, and spat out some sand.

"Now son," the gator, having retrieved the line and set the rod in the bucket, made his way over to the shark, "all ya done is made it mad."

"Oh good, my specialty at work once again," Ryou constructed a sharp blade onto his arm and jumped onto the shark, trying to jab it into its head. He got knocked off again and went face first into the sand. He looked up just in time to see the gator man put his foot on the nose of the shark and stab the shark in the head with the now unsheathed blade he had.

With that, the shark had passed on.

The gator and Ryou shared a look.

"Thank you," was all Ryou to could mutter as he brushed himself off.

"No problem," the gator replied. "Do ya need help cuttin' it up?"

Ryou, construct gone, grabbed the sharp rock and made the first cut into the fresh meat. "No thanks, I think I can handle it from here."

"Ya think or ya know?" The gator chuckled as he went back to fishing.

Ryou was not answering that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *evil cackling*

Gatorfolk Planet was added to the list of places Ryou wanted to show his family when he got back to them. Nice people, loved hunting, nearly indestructible by most means. Krod, the gator man Ryou had met on the beach, was one of the leaders, a few spots under the village elder Grak, who looked like a walking corpse.

He felt the urge to stay longer, to see more of the planet and maybe help with all the debris he made from his crash.

Ryou shook his head. He had people to find and thank goodness that most of them together as part of team Voltron. Finding Voltron wouldn't be too hard. Five giant cats, one huge white and black ship with glowy blue lights, most likely leading the rebellion against the Galra.

With that much detail, how hard coult it be?

He updated his mental checklist. Find Voltron, find five of the seven. Find Matt and Samuel Holt next. Find rebel forces. Contact the Green Lanterns in any way possible. Not in that order but preferably so. The ring around his finger wasn't much help, especially when a blue power ring had shown up some time ago and hit Ryou right in the face when he tried to get a closer look before disappearing into the dark of space with no way of finding out where it went. That blue ring's mere presence had made him feel tired.

At the very least, Ryou got a good map of the Galra controlled side of the universe, noting places that didn't seem to be under it's reign. To his surprise, it looked that almost one third was slowly but surely being liberated.

Just how powerful were the Lions and why wasn't Ryou working on them at that very moment?

According to the ring, he was toeing the edge of Galra territory. Whether that meant he would be in Green Lantern territory or a free for all of uncharted space wasn't quite clear.

One hour in there, he saw a giant... worm... thing.

He turned back towards Galra territory in less than a heartbeat and kept going, muttering the oath to himself, looking for somewhere far from whatever in the nine hells was that thing that made him feel like a flea in comparison.

Ryou hadn't felt that terrified in a long while. The closest would be when he made a joke of the Joker with his home-made traps, and that was for a split second.

Looking over his shoulder, Ryou swore he heard the worm thing nearby.

Days later, Ryou found what seemed to be a mall. Bright and friendly with quite the number of happy patrons strolling around and enjoying themselves. The atmosphere was so calm that he had wondered for a split second if the Galra were even a problem in the first place.

Looking at the ring cleared up his confusion and reminded him that he was apparently some sort of celebrity gladiator. To avoid being recognized, he swiped a cloak from one of the ships nearby and pulled the hood over his head before entering. For extra measure, he constructed himself a simple mask to cover the top half of his face.

The mask alone left him nostalgic. It was the same as the one he wore during the few times he went out on the field with his brothers, playing tag across the rooftops with Takashi and Dick, much to Batman's chagrin as he reminded them they were supposed to be patrolling and keeping an eye out for criminal activity.

He missed the wind in his hair, the rush of lights whizzing by, and the soft hum of the city in his ears. He missed it so much but knew that leaving it behind was necessary. Gotham had a worthy hero, one who was doing so much to fix the injustices that plagued it from its depths to its people and mentoring others to continue that legacy.

More so, he missed the sense of completion it gave him. To have his family so close was something he hadn't appreciated as much as he should have. Dysfunctional at best, with bad habits all around and death lingering over their shoulders at nearly all times. Even then, they were under the protection of a powerful set of wings that practically held the key to hell.

But he couldn't go back knowing that the circle was broken.

Ryou took a deep breath and steadied himself. If he kept thinking about the time he lost, an emotion that powered the ring, he'd cause quite the commotion.

It wasn't until he noticed some food stands did he realize he had no money on him. He found a fountain, surprised that the concept of throwing coins to make a wish on them was also a thing in space. Swiping about three dozen coins, Ryou tried for another dozen when the mall cop, the least threatening Galra that Ryou had ever seen, swung by on a hovering segway and looked quite pissed. Ryou decided not to get on the law's bad side with so many civilians nearby adn went on his way.

To his surprise, he had swiped more than enough money for something that looked like takoyaki. Another wave of nostalgia washed over him as he ate, feeling the familiar heat of food too hot to comfortably eat but too delicious to spit out to allow it to cool. It even had some sort of meat and vegetable filling.

He found himself bumping into a rather long line. Curiosity got the better of him, and he mingled in to see what all the fuss was about. A few minutes later, he saw a familiar flash of yellow rush by.

"Was that...?" Ryou followed the chaos, a rare occurence for him as it was usually the other way around. He tried to intervene somehow, find a route that went ahead of it and see for himself if it was really who he thought it was.

He went up and forward, climbing to the second floor and using muscles he hadn't quite used in a long while. He got a good view of whoever Mall Cop Galra was after and time seemed to slow down into the longest second in existence.

Riding a cow on a hoverboard, Ryou saw Lance and Pidge, behind them, was Keith, holding onto for dear life. Behind Keith, securing the rear of the cow, was Hunk. They picked up some pirate dude with orange hair and made their way to the exit as quickly as they could.

Ryou followed, attempting to jump and land on what little space was left on the hoverboard.

They were so close and all he needed to do was reach out, grab on, and hold with a white knuckled grip that made a full grown killer polar bear look docile.

He jumped.

And someone pulled him back.

A tall and bulky figure, also hidden by a cloak, held him up his his hood and gingerly placed him on his feet.

"Be careful," a low feminine voice spoke to him. Not Varice, Varice hissed. This voice growled, and Ryou swore he saw some fangs behind those green tinted lips.

The sudden stop in his momentum kept Ryou in place, looking up at the fellow hooded figure that stared down at him. Swallowing his fear, he nodded, thanking his foresight to don the mask in case this figure recognized him.

"Let's go Zethrid," another hooded figure, closer to Ryou's height, tugged the the larger figure's arm.

"We're not supposed to waste time here," a third figure, a little shorter than the second and Ryou himself, came from behind.

"Stay safe," the second figure, oddly chipper, nodded to him as the three went on their way.

Ryou, feeling the wave of energy again, ran for the nearest escalator and practically slid down, muttering apologies to the people he bumped against along the way. He found the mall cop heading away from the direction he was going only a few moments before. Going the other way, he saw that a glimpse of a small white and black ship similar to the ones the Lions boarded.

The ship had already gained some distance and the hangar doors were closing.

"No!" Ryou activated his ring, burning the cloak and melting the rest of the coins. He nearly got stuck, barely getting past the doors as they shut closed. He chased the ship, trying to close the ever growing distance between them.

A blue wormhole opened and the ship went in. Desperately, he reached out, a hair too far from following. The wormhole closed, the ship was gone, and Ryou had no idea where it was going.

He saw his parents' faces, their faded smiles laughing in near forgotten voices. He saw their cremation, their burial, their names engraved on quiet, cold stone. He saw a fuzzy, old looking home, the one he and Takashi lived for the first few years of their lives before they had to move to Gotham. He saw the house they stayed at for only two short years before he and Takashi had to move again. They had each other, and only each other, until one day, Dick Grayson appeared and things started falling into place.

On that day, there was music and food among quiet mischievous giggles that ruffled from under various tables as little hands reached up to grab whatever they could reach. Those same tiny hands built traps that impressed the Batman. Those same hands held tightly to Takashi's as they had loaded up their belongings once more in a sleek and shiny black car, going to Wayne Manor not as guests, but as its new residents.

Sights and sounds all blurred in one chaotic mist of senses. A flash of Bruce's rare and gentle smile here, the chorus of guns as he helped Jason get a bullet out of his leg there, listening to Tim explain a block of code in hopes of finding the weak link.

Through it all, Takashi was there, always a hop, skip, and a jump away.

Until he wasn't.

Pilot Error.

Those were the words that read under the images of the Kerberos mission crew. Pilot Error, as said the official papers and reports. When Clark had gone up to look, there were no traces of the ship or the crew, not on the icy rock or in the surrounding area. They had just vanished with not a single explanation and Ryou was so close to finding it before it was snatched away.

Everything faded to a deafening red but this time, Ryou could see clearly through the crimson filter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Steven Universe reference is strong in this one... I think... I don't know mental words are just an awesome concept and I think Battle for Mewni aired when I was writing this one. Yeah, these chapters are kinda old.
> 
> Suicide attempt mention in this one.

Ryou awoke submerged in some sort of sticky, red fluid. He wondered if it was a new terror to his already terrible sleeping schedule, and took a breath.

"Don't waste your potential," a low and booming voice crawled on his back.

Startled, Ryou covered his mouth and nose.

"While the process took longer than expected, there are no words to describe how wonderful it is to finally see you here," the voice, connected to a large form, swam by Ryou.

He tried to will himself awake. To skip to the glittering darkness-

"You are awake," the voice begun to speak again. "Just not entirely."

No matter where he looked, he couldn't find the source of the voice. He did, however, see other colored liquids floating above him. Bubbles of green, blue, indigo, and violet pooled closer to what was hopefully the surface.

"Oh those?" The voice seemed to be in Ryou's head. "Those are unnecessary pests and will be dealt with shortly. Of course, the process takes little time if you submit willingly."

Pests? If this place was some mental construct of what he thought it was, then those were the pools of his emotions, at least the ones connected to the emotional spectrum and were completely and absolutely necessary.

"Is that what you think?" The voice seemed to laugh. "Those have been holding you back, clouding your true self. That is, until you accepted my power, of course."

Something touched one of the indigo bubbles. Helplessly, Ryou watched as the indigo bubble sunk and disappeared into the murky depths. It hurt to breathe as the fluid burned his throat and lungs.

"Do not worry, you won't be needing that when we're done," the voice growled this time.

Swimming up, Ryou found himself in vacuum of pure, burning red, from the light and cloud-like air above to murky waters below. The other bubbles actually formed pools, glowing softly in a battle against the red, but were disappearing one by one.

"No!" Ryou tried to reach a violet pool, only able to touch a drop. The same thing happened with bools of indigo and green. Three little drops were all he had and they disappeared as the waves of red crashed over him.

Taking a deep a breath, Ryou dove down, trying to find at least one bubble before it all succumbed to whatever the vile plasma was.

"You're wasting your energy," the voice told him, exasperated as if it were a parent. "The first step to becoming powerful is recognizing your true potential."

Ryou swam to the surface again taking as deep a breath as he could before the waves pulled him under.

It burned. It was deafeningly loud and eerily quiet all at the same time. Yet in the depths, down and still diving further, was a small blue light. A glimmer of hope.

With his remaining energy, Ryou began to descend, feeling the pressure of the rage crushing his lungs.

He was not letting hope slip through his fingers again. He was not going to let the ring, or his own grief for that matter, turn him into an unholy abomination of hate. The blue light was getting farther, and Ryou was losing his strength. He couldn't hold his breath anymore.

......

............

Ryou woke up in a colorless space best described as pure and quiet static with solid white ground and clear puddles of water underneath him.

"Hey there," a soft voice spoke to him. Looking up, Ryou saw a pale woman dressed in black with messy raven hair and an ankh dangling from a thin, loose chain arund her neck.

Confused, Ryou looked around again.

"Where am I?" His voice echoed gently in the static.

"Well it depends on your beliefs," she smiled. "Purgatory, limbo," she held her hands ups and held them flat, shaking them slightly with an eyebrow raised in amusement, "the In-Between."

They shared a laugh as Ryou looked into the tiny puddle of water and saw the blue light.

"You know your soul is still clinging to your body," she kneeled on the other side of the puddle, seeing the blue light as well. "You're such a stubborn little fella."

"Really?" He asked, hands ready to dip into the water.

"Yep, I could tell when you were born," she explained. "Care to guess who I am?"

"Death," Ryou looked up and saw a knowing look in her eyes. "It's funny. There were so many times I prayed and begged to feel your embrace but now that I'm here, I don't think I'm ready to go yet."

"Not a lot of people are ready," Death put a hand on his shoulder. "You know, you lived one of the most interesting lives I've seen so far."

"I appreciate the thought," Ryou looked back down at the blue light, "but I'm not done yet."

Quickly, Ryou dipped his hands into the buzzing water and grabbed the blue light. The light stung into him, biting and bleeding into his body. Despite the pain, it felt amazing, better than he had ever felt in his entire life.

The static began to pulse and the buzzing got louder. Ryou's voice cut through the haze as the realm haphazardly rearranged itself. First a field of sunflowers, then a smaller garden, a school, a tatami mat room with a tea set ready, the orphanage, the Batcave, the cabin in the desert with Keith's jacket sitting on the couch, a few places in the Garrison even flashed before him.

Finally, a rooftop in Gotham on a rare, calm, and quiet night with the family.

"Ryou," Death's voice echoed in front of him as a soft warmth pressed against his forehead, "good luck."

The static filled with blue light. Ryou felt himself being pulled under the water as he heard a roar in the distance before everything faded to white.

......

............

Pale flourescent lights greeted his eyes and a warmth held his hand. Ryou didn't know where he was, something he'd gotten used to. Looking to whoever was holding his hand, Ryou's heart nearly skipped a beat when he saw Dick, fast asleep in what looked like a long while given the dark bags under his eyes and the disheveled hair.

Ryou tightened his hand.

Dick snorted and bolted up. "WHA-WHERE-WH-?" He looked around, panicked.

Despite the pain and weight that filled his body, Ryou lurched into a seated position to get a better look. He managed to lift himself up on his elbows when Dick suddenly threw himself on top of him.

They held each other, shaking breaths turning to soft sobs as they realized that this was really happening. No illusions, no tricks. They were together again.

And then Dick slapped the backside of Ryou's head.

"OW?" Ryou raised his voice, finding it cracked as he spoke.

"What were you thinking?" Dick's voice was also breaking.

"Oh don't act like you wouldn't do the same thing," Ryou growled. The slap rang through his entire body.

"Not the point!" Dick somehow materialized a chocolate bar from somewhere below him. "Ryou, do you know what you were doing when we found you?"

"Dying," Ryou answered quickly, remembering his little talk with Death. "Though I'm sure the ring was doing something with my body."

"That's-" Dick's tone was wavering as he realized what Ryou was going through. Lost, alone, forced to rely on his grief to survive. Dick sighed. "Look, Bruce has about three lectures lined up for you, so change those footie pajamas, get some food-"

Ryou grabbed the chocolate bar and looked down. Indeed, he wore a blue one piece, with black on the tips of his toes, the symbol of the Blue Lantern Corps on his chest in white, and thin dark blue bands around his wrists where the garment stopped. Around his left middle finger, a blue ring. "Well," he said, wiggling his toes, "that's something. So," he continued, unwrapping the top half of the chcolate bar and taking a bite, "how long have I been out?"

"Three days," Dick answered.

In surprise, Ryou gasped, and nearly choked on the chocolate. "Three days?" He looked at Dick with wide eyes and took another bite. Usually, he crashed for at least one.

"Yeah," Dick snapped off a piece of chocolate for himself. "You were kinda raining hell on some, what were they called? Galra?"

"Sounds about right," Ryou huffed and swept back his hair.

Today was going to be a long day.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In case of typos and other such writing flops in my previous chapers, it has been a while since I looked at these and I'm half sure I only fixed them when Iw as submitted them to tumblr.
> 
> Aw well.
> 
> Wait this is the chapter summary. Shit. Talk of scars in this one, and some PTSD.

"So where's my red ring?" Ryou had finished three chocolate bars and showed no signs of going for a different food source.

"The red ring is in containment after the League did some analyzing," Dick had not so subtly tried to correct Ryou's wording. "Specifically all the information you managed to record on it."

"Ah," was all Ryou could say, looking through the gym bag of spare clothes Dick had brought. "So Bats' isn't too keen on letting me keep it?"

"Why would you want it back?" Dick was a little upset he only got to eat approximately half of the chocolate bars he had brought, but at least Ryou was eating. "You were practically a mon-"

Ryou shot a look at Dick.

"-ster," the last syllable was barely above a whisper. "Ryou," Dick put a hand on his brother's shoulder, "when Bruce is done, we're heading home."

"Not happening Dicky," Ryou, seeing his limited options, grabbed some clothes and handed the bag back to Dick. "Still need to find Taka, Keith, the rest of the Kerberos crew, those missing cadets-"

"Ryou, no. You're coming home with us and we're letting the Green Lanterns deal with the Galra-"

"Grayson," Ryou's voice lowered as he got out of bed. "Takashi, Keith, those cadets. They're in a fight against the Galra. They're not going to hold out forever."

"What? How do you know?" The gears were turning in Dick's head.

"Because I saw them," Ryou took off the blue ring.

In a gentle flash, the blue outfit was gone and Ryou stood in front of Dick in the black and purple uniform of a Galra prisoner. Not that Dick knew what it was right away, connecting the dots as he studied the tattered purple cloth and how Ryou never looked down as he made his way to the bathroom.

The room was quiet, with the ship's engine creating a low hum as Ryou undressed.

"Dick?" Ryou's voice was small. He had gotten down to his birthday suit but seemed to be frozen in front of the shower.

"Yeah?" Dick stood with his back to the bathroom, door open.

"Could you," Ryou held the privacy curtain, ready to use it, "stay? And talk with me? I don't want to be alone."

Dick took a deep breath and dragged his chair into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. "Why not?"

"Thanks," Ryou entered the shower and closed the curtain.

......

............

Hell. Dick was in hell. That was the only explanation to the effects the sticky hot air and his choice of attire had on his body.

Apparently, Ryou just loved hot showers. Really hot showers. Showers that seemed to measure at one hundred and sixty two degrees Fahrenheit. And not only did he love these hellishly hot showers, he absolutely loved long, hellishly hot showers.

"Ryou!" Dick groaned as he tried to cool himself off. "You're killing me here!"

"I never told you to sit in here with me," Ryou retorted, having taken Dick's chair. "Besides I thought you loved saunas!"

"Not when I'm dressed for work you jackass," Dick opened the bathroom door, refreshed as the cold air of the recovery room hit him. "Are you almost done?"

As if on cue, the water stopped running and Ryou pulled back the curtain. "Yep."

"No on wants to see your dick, Ryou," Dick yelled as he stood just outside the door.

"Stop being such a dick, Grayson," Ryou smirked as he dried himself off. His eyes caught sight of his reflection in the mirror as the cool air leaked in and cleared the steam.

Scars criss-crossed his body where he was unmarked before. Not even the old wounds from his brief time in the field left him with such telling injuries. The scars on his hands, from years of cuts, burns, and ambitious experimentation with equipment, were nothing compared to the claws and blades that now decorated his chest, arms, and back. All of them were a reminder that while his time in the arena was short, the pain would last a lifetime.

Ryou took a deep breath and got dressed.

Dick was taking a turn in the hospital bed this time, even stripping down to his underwear to let the sweat dry off.

"Ew, Dick," Ryou smirked and tossed a towel, grabbing another chocolate bar from the gym bag.

"Shut up," Dick wiped himself dry and took the chocolate bar from Ryou, taking note of his outfit.

A plain dark red leather jacket, a black tank top, matching black jeans, black combat boots, and black gloves. His hair, a bit longer than what Ryou had when he left, was swept back.

"Holy shit you have a forehead," Dick commented as he zipped up his suit.

"I'd ask where the scissors are but I'm sure ya'll have me on some sort of watchlist," Ryou played with his hair, trying to find something comfortable.

"I could cut it," Dick nudged Ryou's side, surprised when Ryou made a sharp gasp and jumped. "Or not. We could ask Bruce for some haircut money and head to a pro."

"Eh?" Ryou's voice was stiff and shaky, "Oh, if it's you it's fine." Ryou took some deep breaths, holding his chest.

Dick's shoulders dropped. Gently, he made Ryou sit and took the seat next to him.

"Are you going to be alright?" He kept his voice low.

"I-" Ryou held his hands together, rubbing one thumb over the other hand's palm, "I don't know."

Dick placed his hand in Ryou's, wrapping an arm around Ryou's shoulders.

"It's going to be fine," Dick murmured gently.

"Not until I find Taka," Ryou muttered, tightening his grip on Dick's hand.

With more chocolate, firm but gentle reassurances, and plenty of hugs, Dick was finally able to get Ryou out of the recovery room for a walk. All the while, Dick kept Ryou calm and chipper with questions about the planets he had visited and the people he met while he was away. Dick kept his walking pace slow, mostly to match Ryou's own stiff pace, and to keep from overworking Ryou's tired body.

"Dick," Ryou stretched out, his muscles still heated from the shower.

"Yeah?" Dick was eating a chocolate bar, the last one and he was really hoping Ryou didn't ask for more.

"Can you keep the whole prisoner thing a secret from Bruce?"

"What?"

In Dick's confusion, Ryou swiped a bit of chocolate.

"For now," Ryou clarified, "at least. I want to tell him what happened, eventually, but right now, Taka and everyone else need our help in their fight against the Galra and I don't want to be benched just yet."

"What do you mean their fight?" Dick had stopped walking, watching Ryou take a few more steps.

"I don't understand it myself," Ryou turned to look at Dick, "but I do know they have some pretty powerful weapons but they're low on numbers."

"Which is why you kept calling the Green Lanterns," Dick realized that despite the red light's influence and lack of information, Ryou still had other people's best interests at heart.

"Hey where's the mess hall? I'm kinda starving here." Ryou stretched, feeling a familiar ache in his stomach.

"You just ate three chocolate bars." Dick narrowed his eyes.

"That is not a meal Dick," Ryou quietly argued.

Dick sighed. "Down the hall, take a left."

"Thanks Dicky!" With a hop and a skip, Ryou was off to get a meal in his system and hopefully get rid of the headache.

As soon as he entered he grabbed a tray, stacking a couple hamburgers, a plate of hamburger steak, and a couple muffins as a palate cleanser. Humming to himself as he went to sit down, he noticed that someone else was also taking the time to have a meal.

An unknown Red Lantern with cold blue eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When I saw vague "DC" and "all media types", you best believe I'm picking apart all sorts of canon.
> 
> With that out of the way, meet Razor everybody! From Green Lantern The Animated Series!

"Hi," Ryou didn't know what else to say.

The Red Lantern stopped cutting the steak and looked up at Ryou.

"Greetings."

With that, the Red Lantern resumed eating.

For a few minutes, only the sounds of cutlery and soft chewing could be heard in the too clean and too quiet mess hall. In that time, the blue power ring had made a reappearance, floating on its own around the two.

"I see you have made some progress in your recovery," the Red Lantern said, not looking up from his steak.

"Hm?" Ryou, with a hamburger stuffed in his mouth, was quick to swallow some of what was in his mouth in order to speak clear. "Oh, um, yeah. I just woke up a few minutes a-" he burped, "-go."

The Red Lantern seemed conflicted, judging by the small disgusted look on his face and the shake of his head. "I must admit, the amount of blue light you were able to generate from your temporary bond with the blue power ring was... unexpected."

"Is that why it won't leave me alone?" Ryou watched as the ring floated around them.

"Most likely," the Red Lantern watched the ring float around before returning his attention to his steak. "That ring in particular had been following me for quite some time. Very convenient when we needed a way to sever the connection of the red power ring."

"Oh well, if it's yours take it," Ryou continued eating his hamburger.

"That is a task much easier said than done," the Red Lantern noted.

"Is it because the red power ring basically replaces our hearts and will kill us if we took it off?" Ryou remembered the anxiety of making sure the ring never fell off or got removed when he was fidgeting with it.

"What?" The Red Lantern looked confused. "Who told you that nonsense?"

"Gr-" Ryou felt small. "Green Lantern Hal Jordan?"

The Red Lantern sighed.

"Look I trust Hal okay? Not exactly the brightest bulb in the shed but he's someone you want on your side, especially if John Stewart's there too because Stewart is a man of duty and honor and a great amount of wisdom. I was a Green Lantern for a while under Stewart's metaphorical wing and that was a good month and a half. I don't need your judgemental bull-" Ryou saw a bright flash of red and saw the Red Lantern holding his ring between his fingers with a look of complete and utter disappointment on his face.

After what felt like a minute, the Red Lantern put his ring on and was dressed in red and black once more. His expression did not change.

"Well I feel like an idiot," Ryou muttered to himself.

"Do not worry," the Red Lantern smiled. "It matches your appearance."

Ryou's chuckling turned into boisterious laughter. For a good half minute, it echoed in the room and could probably be heard from down the hall.

"I like you," Ryou finally said, regaining his breath.

The Red Lantern looked as displeased as ever. "The feeling is not mutual."

"Suit yourself," Ryou watched the blue power ring as it kept flying around. "I've killed Galra with more wit than you."

"Excuse you?" The Red Lantern growled.

"I mean I know I'm not supposed to kill but you gotta understand, they've conquered and enslaved countless of planets," Ryou explained.

"So mindless murder is your answer?" The Red Lantern held his knife tightly.

"Not entirely mindless," Ryou snipped. "I got a little too creative sometimes."

"Ryou why are you antagonizing Razer?" Dick entered, also favoring hamburgers with a side of some fries, and could almost see the tension.

"Because you're too worried about my wellbeing to properly banter with," Ryou answered as he stole some fries from Dick's plate.

"Speaking of your journey," Razer pushed around some meat, "did you find who you were looking for?"

The blue power ring stopped mid-orbit around Ryou and made a beeline to Razer.

"No," Ryou answered, taking off the wrapper from his muffin. "But I've come across information that would be more than helpful."

"Ryou I told you, we're going home," Dick insisted, pointing a fry at Ryou.

"And I told you I'm not going until I find Taka and isn't it wonderfully convenient that five of the seven people that are currently on my list are all together in one place?" Ryou argued.

"Be thankful that you have such luck," Razer growled, stabbing one of the last pieces of his steak with a rather murderous look in his eyes.

"More like misfortune considering the circumstances in which I discovered said information on the dingdongs I call friends and family." Ryou muttered, picking off pieces of his muffin.

"Care to explain? I had to lie to Bruce that you were still out," Dick sighed.

"WHY WOULD YOU LIE TO BRUCE?" Ryou roared in disbelief.

"And why am I still here?" Razer muttered to himself.

"You," Ryou pointed to Razer, "hush up, the big kids are talking. You," he pointed to Dick, "the first bit of information is that Taka had his arm forcibly removed and replaced with Galra tech."

"That isn't good," Dick sighed, suddenly not feeling hungry.

"The second is that those dingdongs were specifically chosen by giant sentient mechanical lions to fight a war against the Galra," Ryou growled, though it hid a slight chuckle as the crazy notion of a respected scientist and leader such as King Alfor making huge cats from something that could tear the barriers between realities. Then again, Ryou had done similar experiments through... other means in the past, with John Constantine as his voice of reason.

"So they have no choice?" Razer seemed just as intrigued, if only because he was in the room.

"Oh they have a choice. Fight or let the Galra conquer and enslave the whole universe," Ryou shot a look at Dick.

"Again, no choice," Dick insisted.

"Which is why I'm going to join in the fight. The Lions of Voltron are nearly indestructible but they still need maintenance, upgrades-"

"Is your brain full of Mungtor snot?" Razer hissed. "Voltron is nothing more than an old child's tale."

Ryou looked at Razer with cold murder in his eyes. In that instant, an hour long rant had planned itself and was about to be spoken when Dick began talking.

"By the by, what were you two talking about when I came in here?" Dick was hoping that it was something innocent. So much so, the blue power ring even included him as it floated around.

"Oh nothing. Just how your so called brother here is quick to kill when faced with the slightest hint of hostility," Razer was done with his steak and pushing around the bone.

"He's adopted." Dick was quick to reply.

"Oh come on Dicky," Ryou was halfway through his second muffin. "You know you love me."

"In any case, the murderous intent is a side effect of the ring." Razer kept playing around with the bone. "It will fade soon enough."

Ryou finished his muffin and picked up his tray. On his way up, he grabbed Razer's as well and stole another fry from Dick.

He could hear them talking as he went to put the trash and trays away. Despite the snark and sarcasm on both ends, they seemed to be getting along, though Ryou would have to get Dick back for that adopted comment.

The fact that he had lied to Bruce was enough for concern. Not knowing where this ship was in relation to where he was previously also made him rather anxious. As far Ryou knew, they could be closer to Earth than he thought.

He felt the familiar sparks in his body as he thought of having to run away again.

His breath began to waver, and his hands couldn't stop trembling. He needed to be calm, and not just for his own sake, but for Dick and for Bruce. He was nowhere near calm, but he needed to keep going.

"Hey Ryou, you aren't getting seconds are you?" Dick called from the table.

"Your body may not be able to handle so much food at once," Razer raised his voice slightly.

Ryou could feel his digestive system getting upset already.

Taking a deep breath, Ryou steadied himself as much as he could and walked back to the table.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter... OF PART 1!
> 
> Funny story about this chapter. I was writing it when suddenly I was all "oh..." when I realized I'd be writing a certain scene.
> 
> Haha.

The Shirogane twins were always being compared to each other, no matter how many times they had to clarify that while they were genetically identical, they were still individuals.

Takashi was the astrology nerd that made his own star charts and could predict the weather just by looking at the night sky. Ryou was the mechanical nerd that could list everything wrong with every car they walked by just through sound and even smell alone.

Takashi loved honey in his tea and would pour it right in without too much thought, while Ryou could barely stand to have a spoon of sugar in his coffee unless it was perfectly measured.

Both were fine with crowds and socializing, though Takashi was the natural diplomat and leader that Ryou had no issues following. Both were okay with voicing their troubles, with varying amounts of arm twisting depending on the nature of said problems, be it to each other or someone they trusted with such issues.

So why did telling the vaguest version of his experiences leave Ryou so tired and anxious?

At the same time, he was practically fighting the Justice League in a battle of will, but was able to get some info on what happened to him.

From their perspective, Hal had received a message from Razer that there was a source of pure, deep, overwhelming rage and he was being pulled into it. Hal contacted the Justice League for assistance, and they managed to teleport a ship to Razer's location, finding a large wormhole of red light. On the other side, was Ryou, howling in agonizing pain and was hot enough to match a star about to become a supernova. Even Razer was having troubling withstanding the heat, but he was the only one who could get close enough to Ryou to put the blue power ring on him.

Perfect timing, as Ryou was rediscovering his own hope while chatting with Death.

The sudden shift from red light to blue nearly killed Razer, who was the closest and needed Hal to keep him stable. Ryou had a similar reaction, getting out of it alive, but unconscious. He was dragged to the ship and to the medical bay to ensure the transition from red to blue didn't shock his system too much.

With both Razer and Ryou out of trouble, the Justice League were heading in the general direction of Earth while they repair parts of the ship that got toasted in Ryou's tantrum.

The very thought of that distance made Ryou see red.

His blood boiled as he looked for something to hit, settling for punching a sizable dent into the metal wall of his temporary living quarters.

Why? Why was he being pulled away when he was so close to what he was reaching for? Why did the ship feel so cramped? Why did he feel so small and scared?

Not just scared, but angry. Furious. Livid to the point of wanting to go back down to the control room and punching one of the League members in the face.

Maybe Batman. Or Hal.

Either one would suffice. Maybe both.

The door opened, and Razer was on the other side.

"Do you have a moment?" he spoke calmly.

"Not now Edgelord," Ryou growled, trying to stop the shaking of his shaking hand.

"My name is Razer and that-" he nodded to the dent in the wall, "is why I'm here." Razer entered and the door closed.

With a sigh, Ryou sat on his bed. "Alright, let's hear it. Let's hear the inspirational speech about love and hope and all that fuzzy good shi-" Ryou stopped when he saw his ring in the palm of Razer's hand.

"The red power ring in containtment is merely a decoy. So long as I have charge, it will be enough to fool even the great Batman," Razer explained with sarcasm on his lips.

Reaching for his ring, Ryou could still hear it whispering and heard its voice muffle as Razer pulled his hand back.

"Ryou Shirogane of Earth, you are being presented a choice." Razer held out both of his hands and opened them palm up. On his right palm sat the red power ring. On his left, the blue power ring.

Aside from the whispering of the red ring, Ryou could practically hear multiple versions of the speech in his head.

"I myself have been struggling with this decision for quite some time, and as your former superior in the Red Lantern Corps and fellow candidate for the Blue Lantern Corps, I feel it is my duty to advise you to choose wisely." Razer continued.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Ryou narrowed his eyes.

"You may only reclaim one ring and the light of that ring will shine a path towards your future. The light of rage and hate will only lead to destruction of not only yourself but of the ones you love as well," Razer's voice lowered. "The light of hope will mend wounds, no matter how severe, and give strength when all seems lost."

Looking between the rings, Ryou realized he could hear a whisper from both of them. A snarling hiss from the red power ring, and a gentle murmur from the blue.

The rings could recognize the conflict of bonds as well, floating a few inches above Razer's palms.

"I understand if you feel unworthy of the blue power ring, having shed blood of those who you believe were deserving of death and the guilt of that is weighing heavily on your mind," Razer looked at Ryou.

"That's the thing Razer," Ryou's eyes settled on the red ring. "I don't feel guilt for killing those Galra."

"Oh," Razer's eyes widen ever so slightly as he processed what that meant. "Well then, I shall leave you to contemplate your path." Razer put his hands behind his back and turned to leave. On his way out, he pushed the blue power ring forward.

Ryou sighed as the door closed and flopped his face onto the pillow. Rolling over onto his back, the rings floated above his face in a little dance, chasing one another as if begging for him to pick one. His eyes followed one of them as he thought of what Razer said. With a growl, he grabbed both, the gym bag Dick left with him, and walked out of the room. He wasn't familiar with this ship in particular, but guessed as to where he could find the airlock.

He stopped when he saw a familiar shape in the shadows. His hand started shaking again, and his voice caught in his throat.

"I-I didn't tell you the first time b-because I knew you'd try to stop me," Ryou began explaining, knowing how much Batman disliked excuses. "I'm n-not going to sit and let hi-let them get killed out there when I know I could be doing something about it."

The shadow was silent, barely moving his head.

Ryou tightened his fists, feeling the rings in his hand and knowing full well which one will be on his finger when he gets inside the air lock. "I'm not afraid of dying Bruce. I know I'm risking a lot here, but it's a risk I'm willing to take and I'm not letting you or Dick stop me."

"Who said we were going to stop you?"

From behind Bruce, Dick stepped forward and pulled Ryou into a tight embrace. "You could at least say goodbye this time."

"I'm coming back," Ryou protested, not moving to return the hug.

Bruce, removing his cowl and joining the hug, pressed his forehead on Ryou's and looked him right in the eye. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Ryou, stiffly but just as tightly, returned the embrace. He could feel the tears in his eyes but kept his mind on other matters. "I'm not scared and I am coming back. With Takashi and Keith." And a few others, but those two were foremost in his mind.

When he entered the air lock, rings in hand and bag at his side, Ryou turned to look at Bruce and Dick one more time. A bitter taste was in his mouth as he put the ring on, growing intense when he saw the pained look on their faces as the ring's light filled the air lock.

Gently, he floated out of the air lock, watching the doors close with dull thuds. Still facing Bruce and Dick, Ryou looked at the star charts generated from the ring and with one last glance, he waved, knowing they would only catch a glimpse of it.

Razer said that both rings would shine a light and reveal a path to his future. One would lead to destruction, the other, to... peace? Harmony? Razer didn't specify. But it felt too black and white, too extreme. If the red ring's effects weren't as bad as Hal made them sound, then surely Ryou could find a way to channel his anger into something constructive. At the same time, the blue power ring required a similar constant state of a singular emotion to work and negated the effects of red light, and Ryou could think of a number of ways hope could be used for evil.

The problem at hand was that both rings had potential, but Ryou could only wear one of the two. He looked at the ring he wore and the one he held in his hand. He thought he heard Bruce's voice, and he looked back to see if anyone was following. Though as it would turn out, the ship was already out of sight and no one was there.

The feeling of being utterly alone hit him quite hard. Once again, he had abandoned the love and relative safety of family to fulfill his selfish desires. He had lost the chance to make amends, to fix what he had broken when he left all those months ago.

And that was a loss he was willing to bear.

On a small rusty yellow planet, a red light streaked across the night sky.

**Author's Note:**

> If you absolutely can't wait to read the rest of the fic, there's a whole lot more over on cocopops1995's tumblr blog noisypaintersong. I might finish up the current fic there and move the rest of it here, but for now it's gonna be reposts, mainly because there's a lot of ideas up in this head and that would be too much for tumblr to handle.
> 
> Enjoy!


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